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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23931184">A Good Influence</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clawesome_Writer/pseuds/Clawesome_Writer'>Clawesome_Writer</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, M/M, Marauders, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Other</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 22:02:28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,523</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23931184</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clawesome_Writer/pseuds/Clawesome_Writer</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Elizabeth Mason was raised in a single parent home in a small cottage in Chesham, her father looked after both her and her younger brother Elijah. Well raised and well rounded, Elizabeth is excited to start her schooling at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, however as she gets older and the threat of war gets larger, her life and priorities change. Join Elizabeth on her journey of magic, adventure, love, war and death.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Sirius Black/Remus Lupin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The letter and trip.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Richard was sat in the kitchen of his small home in the quiet village of Chesham, here he was left alone from the chaos of the wizarding world. He was a pureblood but was raised in the muggle world in an apartment in central London, he attended Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry where he met the love of his life, after school he joined the ministry and worked in the publishing section where all news that made it to the paper went through him. However, as the death toll of the war increased and his wife falling under the names of the deceased he decided to leave the comfortable estate home his wife had worked hard for as an auror and move his children into a safer place, the muggle world. It was here he became a stay at home father, raising his two children Elizabeth and Elijah Mason. Both of whom should be making their way downstairs soon to the breakfast he had prepared, Elizabeth his eldest should be the most excited, he thought to himself while he sipped his morning coffee. As he predicted he heard the loud footsteps and giggles of his daughter and son as they raced and charged down the steps, they both rounded the corner with large grins on their faces. Elizabeth being older and bigger than her brother shoved Elijah onto the floor which resulted in him crying out and Elizabeth laughing harder as she was the first to the table and began to plate up eggs and toast.<br/>
"Lizzie! Your brother is two years younger, throwing him to the ground like that was not a kind thing to do." Richard could hardly keep up with his daughter at times, more so now her magic has kicked in at full steam.<br/>
"It's my birthday dad, I can get away with things, isn't that what getting older is about?" Elizabeth said.<br/>
'No, getting older is about responsibility, compassion and learning how to protect those who can't fight for themselves yet.'<br/>
Fitting a large piece of buttered toasted in her mouth Elizabeth mumbled, 'Doesn't sound like much fun.'<br/>
'No, want to know what is fun though, going to Hogwarts after you got your letter.' Richard lifted Elijah from the floor and plated him some food.<br/>
'Has it come! Where is it? It's my eleventh, it should be here, when did yours arrive? Can you remember that far back?' Elizabeth bombarded.<br/>
'Nope, sorry kiddo, Dumbledore visited though, he said because of your birthday falling so close to September first you'll have to wait until next year.' Richard gave a look of empathy to Elizabeth.<br/>
'What? But you said when I turned eleven and I'm eleven today.'<br/>
"That's okay though Lizzie, means you get another year with me at home." Elijah tried to get his sister to look positively on the situation.<br/>
'Yeah, I guess so Eli, but you're not lying dad, are you.' Elizabeth said.<br/>
'No kiddo, I have a letter that Dumbledore left you, explaining the whole situation.' Richard pulled out the envelope addressed to Elizabeth and handed it to her.<br/>
'Read it out Lizzie, I want to know what it says, I'm still not the best reader.' Eli leaned over to look at the yellow parchment.</p><p>Elizabeth deflated at the news broke the wax seal, her eyes glossed over as she looked at the dark red emblem that brandished the Hogwarts logo. She pulled out the collection of parchments, it was fairly thick but she only assumed it was the legal side of things that her father needed to know. She let out a sigh and began to skim over the first sentence.<br/>
'Dear Miss Mason, we are pleased to inform you that you've been accepted into Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry, term starts September first 1971 below you'll find-' Elizabeth cut herself off.<br/>
'Wait doesn't that mean you're going?' Eli asked as Richard let out a large wave of laughter.<br/>
'Dad! That wasn't funny, I thought for real I wasn't going!'<br/>
'But you are kid, me, you and Eli are all going to Diagon Alley today. It's why such a large breakfast, got your school supplies to buy!' Richard gave Elizabeth jazz hands but the young girl was still unimpressed.<br/>
'I'll go get ready, but it still wasn't funny. Should I wear my wizard clothes or muggle ones?' Elizabeth stood in the door frame, almost glaring at her father after the mean joke.<br/>
'Wizard ones darling.' With that Elizabeth left.<br/>
'You thought it was funny Eli, right?' Richard gave his son a glance.<br/>
'Super funny dad, she almost cried!' Eli said.<br/>
'Well, shouldn't have pushed my little man over, give me a fist bump buddy.' Richard and Eli laughed together and ate some more.</p><p>Upstairs, still angry about about her fathers cruel joke but excited to be going to Hogwarts, rummaged through her clothes to find her wizarding world attire. She pulled on some black jeans, a simple royal blue knitted jumper and then over that her royal blue robes that fell to her feet. She brushed through her wavy brown hair which laid in a soft curl at past her shoulders, she slipped on some brown boots and was ready to leave and gather her school supplies. She checked herself in her mirror before she walked down the steps of her home, this time slowly to look around and noticed the photos of her family. All moving images of course, they framed the staircase, all in wooden frames the black and white photos waved, smiled, kissed, laughed and all were happy. Her favourite photo on the wall was of her dad and mum on their wedding day, her mum wore a beautiful lace gown the flowed with the grass as her dad spun her around. Her mothers brown hair, curled identical to hers came loose from its pinned form. Elizabeth smiled as she jumped the last two steps, her boots alerting her father and brother to her arrival, who both also wore their wizarding attire. Her father wore green robes, whilst her brother sported light blue. They all gathered in the fire place, she had the great honour of being able to throw the floo powder and say Diagon Alley. Within seconds the small family where pulled through and spat out at an old manky pub, or that was at least what Elizabeth assumed.<br/>
'This you two is the Leaky Cauldron, it's generally a nice place but I want you both to keep close to me, no wandering off.' Richard warned the pair.<br/>
'You got it, so can we go out to the alley now, I want my wand!' Elizabeth beamed at the idea of owning her own wand, being able to control her magic.<br/>
'We can go now, come on, this place appears pretty full at the moment.' </p><p>They walked together, Eli held his fathers hand whilst Elizabeth ran forward and gushed and awed at everything, she has only been here a select few times so every time was so unique. She got to see old shopkeepers, her favourite was always Madame Malkin which is where she wanted to go after she had her wand. She ran straight up to the pet shop, she stuck her small finger through the cages and tried her hardest to stroke and touch the owls, cats and even some of the bats and snakes. Richard watched his daughter run from shop to shop, he had taken out a small amount of money before the trip so Gringotts bank was not a necessary visit. They arrived at Olivanders and Elizabeth pushed open the door and ran straight up to the desk, the old wand maker was another of her favourites. She dinged the desk bell once and bounced on the balls of her feet, not soon after the old man came into view. His white hair and kind eyes welcomed her, his face formed a smile when he saw the customer, she was always a joy to be around.<br/>
"Ah Elizabeth, I've been waiting all these years, I know exactly the wand that shall fit you perfectly my dear." He reached underneath his desk and pulled out a brown box.</p><p>He pulled the lid off of the box to reveal a mahogany wand, it was simple and slick with small runes going up along toward the tip of the wand, he held it out towards Elizabeth who took it lightly in her small hand but when the winds picked up and danced around her she gripped it with a possessive nature she did not know she had. Olivander smiled warmly, he grinned from ear to ear, he was always happy when he found a wand for a witch or wizard but he was overjoyed knowing that he had allocated a special wand to a witch that he was sure he could expect grand things from. Elizabeth smiled towards the man, as if she already knew this was hers for life, as her father already sensing the connection paid for her wand the small girl looked at her new wand, glancing at it with satisfaction. She inspected the runes more carefully, noticing the flowing lines as if to symbolise the wind that picked up around her. She glanced again at Olivander who simply waved to her and winked before he disappeared behind the shelves again, next stop was Madame Malkins who was going to measure her for her robes. She walked in to a boy with full black, wavy hair and a confident smirk on his face being measured. His parents were nowhere to be seen, but it seemed the boy liked it that way. Madame Malkin bustled out with boxes and a stool for Elizabeth, which she practically pushed her onto. The boy to her right snickered to himself as she tripped before she was able to clamber on top of the stool, he gave her a side eye before he looked pointedly at her. Her dad began discussing and helping Madame Malkin with the boxes and and rolls of fabric, both seemed to have forgot they possessed magic, or maybe it was simply a reason to talk to each other. Eli had occupied himself with the magazines, looking through witch weekly with a disgusted look on his face.<br/>
"I'm Sirius. Glad you didn't fall flat on your face, a bloody nose wouldn't have done too well in a clothes store." He had a bark for a laugh which he projected well for a child.<br/>
'I'm Elizabeth, people call me Lizzie or Beth. I would have liked you not to laugh, I couldn't help being shoved.' She introduced herself.<br/>
'Now you know how it feels, getting pushed down.' Eli said from behind an old newspaper.<br/>
'Who's he? Your brother I am going to guess.' Sirius eyed up Eli.<br/>
'Yeah, that's Eli, he's nine.' Elizabeth replied.<br/>
'What does he mean about you knowing how it feels?' Sirius asked.<br/>
'I pushed him down onto the kitchen floor this morning, we raced to see who could reach the breakfast table first. Nothing about any rules it had to be friendly.'<br/>
'That's brilliant, I would love to push my little brother down but he'd tell my mum who would just scream at me.' Sirius mumbled the last part.<br/>
'I did get told off, dad gave me a lecture about it me getting older is about responsibility, fighting for others, boring adult stuff.' Elizabeth tried to empathised, but her father never yelled at her.<br/>
'Doesn't sound like much fun.' Sirius grinned, which made Elizabeth grin herself.</p><p>Both of Elizabeth and Sirius got their robes, books, trunks and other essential items before saying goodbye to each other and saying they'd find each other on the train, they even discussed over ice cream what they would both wear so they could spot each other. Elizabeth wanted to ask Sirius where is mum and dad were, and why they were not shopping with him but after he got shy in Madame Malkins about getting yelled at, she thought it best not to press to early on, even if she only wanted to help him. After returning home and packing her things into her trunk with Elijah's help, she got into bed and went to sleep. Two weeks later she was at Kings Cross station, with Eli and her dad, her luggage had been charmed with a light weight spell by her father and the trio went through the barrier between platforms nine and ten. As they came out on the other side Elizabeth immediately saw Sirius, he was dressed in full black and was amongst wealthy looking people, it was not what he said he would wear at all. He also had his hair pulled back and tied with a green ribbon, Elizabeth had never seen such disgust worn on any humans face, but Sirius looked so defeated and unhappy. She tried to run up to him, but Richard saw where she was looking and held her back.<br/>
'Don't Liz, you'll make it worse for the boy. They're the Black family, highly pureblood superiority, those are the people I don't want you around. They're all dangerous, they work with him, okay.' Her dad warned her, but she wanted to be by Sirius.<br/>
'So, I can't be friends with Sirius, he seemed nice. You can tell he doesn't like his family.' Elizabeth protested.<br/>
'I know kiddo, I won't stop you from being his friend, especially since I think he needs one who's a good influence. Just be careful, don't approach when his family is around him, they don't like me very much and they especially won't want to be associated with us.' As confused as that made her, Elizabeth agreed and climbed onto the train right after Sirius to give him a quick tap on the shoulder.<br/>
'Goodbye Lizzie, I'll miss you, write to me everyday, and send me candy.' Eli shouted from her dads arms who waved as the train left the station.</p><p>Elizabeth waved with the other children, all who called out and shared their final goodbyes with their families. By the time she turned to Sirius he was slouched against the wall, he had ripped his robe off and thrown it so it half hung out the window and he had untied the green ribbon and attached it to the hanging lantern that illuminated the train. It also looked to Elizabeth that he had ran his hands through his hair multiple times in an attempt to mess it up and frizz to some sort of wild nature. She smiled at the boy who managed a smirk back before they both set off down the train to find a compartment to sit in.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Reputations and sorting's.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sirius and Elizabeth had both settled into the journey, both forgot the outburst of Sirius and decided to try find a carriage to sit in, they walked down the carts, well Sirius swaggered his way down the carts. He clearly was relieved to be away from his family and out of the hideous outfit he had been forced to wear. Elizabeth however took it at a slower pace, she looked out of every window and took in the British countryside, the light green hills with little white dots of fluffy sheep scattered on them. She noticed the clouded sky, as autumn was coming to a close the sky was darker and the clouds were bigger. Birds of all variety took to the horizon in V formation, all departing and starting on a long journey over to hotter climates. She watched the trees sway as the train chugged along, as Sirius got further ahead of her she took more notice of all the students aboard. Some older students looked down at her from their friendship groups, all having notice her size have assumed her a first year. Elizabeth took extra notice in the a boy who looked to be around sixteen, he was wearing a Ravenclaw house knitted jumper, her reason of interest was him talking to two other people whilst casually allowing his hair to switch colours. She turned as she passed him and noticed he was also changing his nose, eyes, eyebrows and ears to make his face look completely different each time. He caught her marvelled eyes and gave her a small smile before stopping his transformations, he remained with brown hair and brown eyes and Elizabeth lost interest and ran to catch up with Sirius who had his head poked into a carriage.<br/>
'I'm Sirius by the way, who are these two?' Sirius said as he walked in.</p><p>Elizabeth sensed trouble was going to start soon, she always had a sensor for it and her father simply said it was a woman's intuition, that her mum always knew whenever her father was doing something he shouldn't. He mentioned it being the reason Professor Flitwick was eager to make her head girl during their time at Hogwarts, that girls have a natural inclination into when something bad will happen. With this feeling settling uncomfortably in her gut she ran into the cart and sat herself down with Sirius, she noticed three other people in the cart, two boys and a red haired girl. The boy Sirius had spoken to looked at her, he had messy raven black hair and square glasses and a smirk that challenged that of Sirius. The other two however seemed more reclusive, the girl wore an innocence around her. She had long red hair that fell well past her shoulders and down to the middle of her back, she wore a simple light green dress that complimented her bright green eyes and hair. The other boy was pressed into a corner, he tried to take up as little space as possible it seemed, he was already dressed in his school robes but even those appeared well worn. He had shoulder length black hair that, if Elizabeth was being honest, needed a wash. He never lifted his gaze to meet Elizabeth or even acknowledge she was here instead he focused on the scenery outside, much like she had done when trying to find a carriage and a place to fit in.<br/>
"I don't know. I was about to ask before you showed up, who's this girl? Is she with you?" The messy haired boy asked.<br/>
'I'm Elizabeth, but call me Lizzie or Beth. I met Sirius when we got our robes fitted.' She held her hand out for the boy to shake.<br/>
'I'm James, I met Sirius just now when he forgot to knock. Can I call you Eli?'<br/>
'No, my brother is nicknamed Eli 'cause his name is Elijah.'<br/>
'Does he go to Hogwarts already? If he's older it could be worth some status points.' Sirius cut in.<br/>
'No, two years younger.' Elizabeth focused on the two opposite her who have yet to speak.<br/>
'So, if I can't call you Eli have you ever considered Zabeth as a nickname?' James cracked a joke which made Sirius laugh and Elizabeth smile.<br/>
'No and I won't, just pick one from the ones I gave.' Elizabeth stated.<br/>
'Whatever you want Zabeth.' James grinned at her.<br/>
'What houses are you guys hoping for?' Elizabeth asked, she hoped the other two children would join in.<br/>
'Anything but Slytherin,' James laughed at Sirius 'my whole family have been in Slytherin.'<br/>
‘Blimey,’ said James, ‘and I thought you seemed all right!’<br/>
Sirius grinned.<br/>
‘Maybe I’ll break the tradition. Where are you heading, if you’ve got the choice?’<br/>
James lifted an invisible sword.<br/>
‘“Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!” Like my dad.</p><p>To Elizabeth the conversation seemed to being going okay however, she didn't feel at ease, that feeling had not gone away yet and she was about to find out why it was still present.<br/>
"That's if you prefer brawn over brain." The boy against the window mumbled.<br/>
'That's if I prefer being cool over slimy,' James fired back 'Gryffindor is the best house.'<br/>
'What did you do that led you to that conclusion? Any evidence that is has superiority over the other three.'<br/>
Elizabeth could tell this boy liked facts and figures over any reputation.<br/>
'Yeah, my dad was a Gryffindor and I'm going to be one too,' James said proudly 'which makes it the best.'<br/>
'That's biased, most success comes from Slytherin. It's unbeaten and it produces a lot of powerful and best in their field workers. The best choice for success is Slytherin.' This boy was articulated and calculated, he had his answers planned out.<br/>
'Maybe I don't want success, maybe I want to be able to afford fresh uniform and not anything second hand.' James struck a nerve with the other boy.<br/>
Elizabeth was in shock, her dad always taught her it doesn't matter what someone can and can't afford, you don't put a price on loyal friends.<br/>
'James! You can't say that, it's mean.' Elizabeth protested as the red haired girl stood up.<br/>
"I agree with Lizzie, it was mean! Come on Severus, we can find another place to sit." The duo got up and left the carriage, both James and Sirius resumed conversation as if nothing had happened.</p><p>The rest of the train ride was confusing for Elizabeth, she liked Sirius and James at times but some of the remarks they made about Severus after he had left and how they spoke about him for things out of his control made her feel bad. She had always been fortunate to have her dad and the money her mum had set aside for them, they had made sure to start saving for Hogwarts once they had a child. Yet, she knew that this was never the case for a lot of children, she wanted to go and find Severus and the red haired girl but she also didn't want to lose James and Sirius. She had been away from her dad for a few hours and she already needed him, she needed to ask him what she should do. As the journey dragged on they changed and waited for the train to pull into the station, they left early morning but arrived to what appeared to be late evening. They all gathered to a large man who held up a lantern, he called for first years to come over and gather around him, in the distance she spotted Severus and the girl. Vaguely she tried to act as if people where pushing her away and closer to them but it didn't work for as the second she went out of the sight of Sirius he turned and fought his way through the mass of students to pull her back to James.<br/>
"Right firs' years, follow me, come on now 'urry up. Don't wanna be missin' the sortin' now, Professor Mcgonagall has already canned me for tha' once." He tried to make the scared group of eleven year old's laugh, as it was scary to follow a man blindly who was the size of a giant.<br/>
'He's huge, like massive! Bet you two gallons he's a half giant!' James and Sirius shook on the bet.</p><p>Elizabeth followed, she looked over every couple minutes towards the red haired girl who smiled at her whenever their eyes met, she was happy that it didn't appear and association grudges where being held. They followed the giant down to a lake where a small gathering of boats each with a lantern attached to the front stick. The man who Elizabeth assumed was a teacher gave instructions to the group of first years, he told them to push the boats out and climb into one with no more than four to a boat. With everyone settled the large man tapped his fingers that were the size of chicken drumsticks on the side of the boat and all of them took off. Amazed, Elizabeth looked into the water and watched as it rippled and saw her own reflection morph and distort. As she looked back up they turned a bend and behind this turn was a looming, magnificent castle, it was several floors tall and had multiple towers of a different sizes. The castle itself reflected off the water even with it being mounted and built upon a vast hill. As the boats drew closer the orange light that reflected in the water rippled and the castle grew larger and all the more impressive. Every child, pureblood to muggleborn were shocked by it's impressive detail and structure and gasps of wonder can be heard from every boat.<br/>
'It's incredible.' Sirius whispered under his breath.<br/>
'It really is, nothing like the village I come from. I've only read about castles like this in story books, you know the ones your dad reads to you when you go to bed.' Elizabeth smiled at Sirius who helped her out of her boat.<br/>
'Nope.' He looked away but not quick enough to hide the sadness in his face.<br/>
'Sirius, I'm sorry-' Elizabeth started.<br/>
'Don't worry about it, honest.' </p><p>The trio walked up to the castle together, Elizabeth was now worried about Severus and Sirius not having good starts to their school experience. They gathered at the bottom of the steps before large oak doors, a woman in emerald green was waiting for them. She was middle aged and wore glasses, some that actually resembled the ones James wore. She waited for the group of excited children to calm down naturally, she appeared to be in no hurry, when everyone had released their chatter she scanned the group. Elizabeth did the same, she spotted Severus and the girl up front, not too far behind them was a boy covered in scars who had curly brown hair and a large plump boy who appeared attached to his side. She quickly looked back to the older lady when she began to speak.<br/>
"My name is Professor Mcgonagall, I teach transfiguration here at Hogwarts. In a couple moments I will go in a check that the older students are settled and the sorting ceremony shall begin. Whilst you are here, the older students will make up your house mates and in turn become your family away from home. There are four houses, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor and Slytherin, it will be the sorting hat that decides what house you belong to. Now, one moment please." She departed and the chatter broke out again.<br/>
"What is the sorting hat? Is it some sort of wizard quiz?" She heard some girl to her right say.<br/>
'It's just a hat that talks in your head, reads your thoughts, my dad told me,' James had gathered a small circle of curious first years 'he knows a lot my dad does, told me all about Hogwarts, everything about the castle.'<br/>
'Bit of a show off, isn't he.' Elizabeth turned and the girl from the train stood before her, with Severus a few steps back.<br/>
'Yeah, I don't agree with what he said, I tried to come over when we got off to apologise.' Elizabeth was glad to finally talk to them.<br/>
'It's fine, I told Severus that you stood up for him, I'm Lily.' She said.<br/>
'I appreciated it. Thank you.' Severus said from behind Lily.<br/>
'It's okay, I hope we can be friends, even if I still talk to these two.' Elizabeth gave a faint smile but wasn't reassured when Severus looked away.<br/>
'It's time for the sorting, line up in twos.' Professor Mcgonagall had returned.</p><p>Paired up the first years began their walk through the large, oak, double doors. Another moment of wonder as the hall was lined with four long wooden tables each seated up to one hundred or more students as well as floating candles illuminating the scene that unfolded before Elizabeth's eyes. Everything her father said was true, the plates and goblets reflected the fire and happy faces of the returning students, as you looked down the the teachers table was elevated and older witches and wizards looked knowingly down at the new arrivals, the roof was transparent and the mesmerising night sky was visible. It was breathtaking and Elizabeth didn't want to stop looking around, she only just heard what Professor Mcgonagall announced about sitting on the stool when your name was called, she was so enchanted by the hall and the differences of the wizarding world to the muggle home she was accustomed to it was difficult to focus.<br/>
'Black, Sirius.' Sirius was tense, from the train ride Elizabeth knew he wanted anything but Slytherin.<br/>
'Gryffindor!' The hat called out and select claps came from the middle table.<br/>
'Evans, Lily.' The polite young girl brushed past Elizabeth who whispered a quick good luck.</p><p>After a few moments the hat called out Gryffindor, she watched as the people she expected to become her friends over the next few years were sorted, after Sirius and Lily it was the boy with the scars who she learned was called Remus. He too was sorted into Gryffindor, then after a few more students she heard her name be called.<br/>
'Mason, Elizabeth.' Careful not to trip over, she sat herself on the stool.</p><p>The old tatted hat was placed on her head, it sunk on her head and sprang to life.<br/>
'Ah right now, what do we have here, a Mason. You have qualities of your father, definitely and although I can see your mother passed young, he still managed to give you some of her qualities too. Courage, a sense of what is right and wrong, the desire to fight for those who can't themselves, a desire for justice. Yet, your fathers knack for perfection, knowledge and wit shines through. You want to learn, grow and evolve and most importantly, make your father proud. Your desires are ambitious and yet are fuelled by loyalty and compassion. A difficult student to place, you could do well where ever I place you. However, my final verdict must be the same house as your father, Ravenclaw!' The hat called out and the far left table erupted in cheers and claps.</p><p>Elizabeth elated to have been placed in the same house as her dad practically ran over, it was only when the cheers died down and the greetings from the other students stopped was she allowed to look around and notice a defeated look on Sirius's face. She had not thought about him and how the house difference might affect them, she now had no clue if their classes would align. Lily turned and smiled and gave a small thumbs up which made her smile, but soon she turned her attention back to the sorting for the remainder of the people she knew. After a short while it came to the short, plump boy that Remus had been with, his name was Peter and followed in the same direction as Remus with the hat calling out Gryffindor. Now into the letter P, it was James's turn and in character the boy strolled up to the hat with confidence and his wish to be in Gryffindor like his father came true. Then one of the last to be sorted was Severus, he too got his wish and was placed into Slytherin where he hoped to find success and belonging.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Ahhh, second chapter, I know it took painfully long to complete and it's not even THAT long but tbh I am only in the starting phases and going through the basics of establishing houses and goals and setting up relationships and character arcs. I promise, next chapter is day one and it starts to spice up!<br/>:)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Everyone knows.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>What started off to be an exciting first day, falls into an abrupt and hurtful memory of the past and a meeting with the headmistress.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was the first day, Elizabeth was excited to start school and she had stayed up thinking about what her first lesson will be, she hoped it would be transfiguration or perhaps charms. She had met other first years in her house, there was a girl in her dorm with blonde hair and blue eyes called Mable Agate, she was very sweet, innocent and charming. They both stayed up getting a head start on the core subjects by reading the assigned books, they also talked about their favourite films, favourite music and even after they tired neither wanted to go to sleep. So, naturally when they woke they both made their way down to the great hall together for breakfast, on the way down Elizabeth realised she had not noticed the route down the the main hall however Mable led the way and showed clear signs of a fantastic memory. She made it her personal effort to point out and show Elizabeth all the little details she had noticed that made it easy to remember her way around, after the long journey down to the great hall Elizabeth sat down and indulged in a full English breakfast. Surrounded by other first years they all were bursting with questions, they bounced off one and other, it seemed their curiosity of what the first day would hold is endless. Although she wanted to know her classes, she knew they'll be given their timetables in time and so worrying or stressing over not knowing something was pointless, something she felt made her different from a large majority of her peers.</p><p>"No first year stress." A lower registered voice asked from behind her.<br/>
She turned and saw the boy who changed his appearance stood behind her, he smiled and held a stack of parchments. 'No, I don't see a point in worrying, you can't leave us wandering the halls...could you?'<br/>
'No sadly we can't.' he laughed at the young girls split show of concern, 'As fun as that would be, it's partly why I've kept hold of the timetables until the last second, see you all frantically search for your classrooms and then us older, wiser owls will swoop in and help the young take their first flight out the nest.'<br/>
'Okay Shakespeare, may I have my timetable now.'<br/>
He turned with a smirk and flicked through the papers until he landed on hers and Mable's. 'You're snarky for eleven, sure you weren't meant to be with the snakes?' He teased.<br/>
'Actually, I'm friends with a boy in Slytherin, I don't think he's half bad.' Elizabeth protested.<br/>
'Hey egg, calm down, it's lighthearted rivalry, I've got nothing against any of the other houses. My name is Sammy, I'm from Chester in England, muggle born and a prefect of Ravenclaw.' He smiled and changed his hair colour to an alarming shade of purple.<br/>
'How do you change your face? I saw it on the train, before you went back to being boring.' Elizabeth asked, she had forgotten about her timetable.<br/>
'I'm a metamorphmagus, it means I don't need a wand, potion or spell to change my appearance. Caused my parents carnage when I went through my accidental magic phase, I would have a tantrum about not having ice cream and I'd grow a shark mouth.' He laughed at the memories as Elizabeth also smiled at the idea.<br/>
'You should get going, everyone has their timetables aside from Ravenclaw first years, I don't want you having to fight of several eleven year old's.'<br/>
'You're probably right, if they're as feisty as you are then I probably won't stand a chance.' He handed over her timetable and she passed Mable hers.<br/>
'Potions first, with Professor Slughorn, it's a mixed class.' Mable commented.</p><p>With their timetables and her friends eagerness they both headed off to class, it was easy enough to find as Sammy was leading a pack of first years even those not in his own house down the corridors and to the dungeons. On their descant, Elizabeth could hear Mable mumbling about unique statues and paintings. With this narration it allowed Elizabeth to take note of the dungeons, she watched as the headless painting juggled it's head and two other skulls and even saw the poor man throw a skull into the other frame further down which landed directly in a cauldron that was surrounded by a hag. Mable then pointed out a statue of a old man with a long beard but bald head, he held a snake and wore elegant robes that were sculpted to represent them as billowing in the wind. She continued to look and allow Mable to commit the route to memory, she felt like she was on a London red bus again, looking out as her dad pointed out all the historical muggle landmarks. Her favourite part from that day was her trip to the toy store as it was when Eli had been too young for toys so she could get a more expensive one. They arrived at the class and found two seats at the back, they then were joined by Sirius, James and in front of them was Severus and Lily. </p><p>"Now class, today we will simply be making the first potion in the textbook, I want you all to read through the instructions carefully before gathering supplies and read them again before starting. It's not in the school budget for new cauldrons, not after what last years bunch did to them." Professor Slughorn began without introduction.<br/>
'It's a simple antidote for Walders Welt-astic wets, or that's what it's primarily used for, I heard about it from a third year on the train.' Mable got up to collect ingredients and Sirius jumped over into her seat.<br/>
'So, how is the nerd house?' Sirius teased.<br/>
'What's with stereotypes, I've been around Ravenclaws and can say not all of them are nerds, not all of them are smart too.'<br/>
'I just got told that Hufflepuff are kind, Gryffindor brave, badass, warriors who stare death down, Ravenclaw is for nerds and Slytherin are future death eaters.' Sirius shrugged. 'But the death eater one was more of a personal experience than just being told.'<br/>
'Why aren't you working? Surely two purebloods have been read these books to as a bedtime story.' Elizabeth changed subject.<br/>
'No, James has a famous potion making dad though, so for hair products, so how his hair is awful I don't know. We plan to wing it.'<br/>
'Well we aren't winging it, so if you could move back to your seat please, me and Lizzie have a potion to start.' Mable scooted her way back onto her stool and began prepping ingridents.<br/>
'I'll wait after class for you Liz, if James and I don't blow the room up.'<br/>
'There should be no blowing up of any classrooms Mr.Black.' Slughorn strode over and eyed the boy.<br/>
'I don't know how Severus and Lily are so far ahead, they're half way through, took me forever to find the blubber worm fat.' Mable whispered and Elizabeth looked ahead to notice Severus leaned over the cauldron whilst Lily read out instructions, but it seemed Severus had not registered any of them.<br/>
'Maybe he comes from a family of potion makers.' Elizabeth suggested.</p><p>Mable turned away and focused instead on their potion and how its progress is coming along, Elizabeth noticed that Mable was quite controlling when it came to her school work and anything that involved being in pairs she took control over this way she had direct say over the final result. The lesson ended and all students put a sample of their finished or in some cases incomplete potions into tubes and submitted them, seeing how dedicated Mable was to having her work be perfect, this lesson wasn't much of a fear for her. Elizabeth left the classroom and told Mable to go ahead to charms because Sirius had wanted to speak to her, soon Sirius appeared and smiled a toothy grin at her, Severus, James and Lily still remained inside as they had been asked to remain. </p><p>'James, Evans and Snape got kept back because Slughorn wanted to praise them, or something along those lines.' Sirius said immediately when he got close.<br/>
'How come you didn't get praised? You were part of the same group as James was.' She asked.<br/>
'I don't know Lizzisles, I don't care too much either, what lesson do you have next? I have defence against the dark arts.'<br/>
'Charms with Hufflepuff, which should be a peaceful lesson, not threats of cauldrons blowing up.' Elizabeth joked.<br/>
"Blowing up a cauldron. Don't buy into it, little Sirius here couldn't raise a hand to a house elf." A girl with a mane full of black curly hair cackled.<br/>
'Why would he do that? They serve us willingly, we should treat them with the same respect, that's what my dad said anyway.' </p><p>Elizabeth noticed Sirius shrink back and he attempted to pull her away from the older girl who was with a blonde male and two other girls who looked a bit like her but not much.</p><p>'Who's your father?' The girl took interest and stepped towards Sirius and Elizabeth.<br/>
'Richard Mason, who's yours?' Elizabeth showed no fear even if she was intimidated by her.<br/>
'Oh that explains everything now, your dad ran away and hid after your mother was murdered, you come from a long line of blood traitors and cowards.'<br/>
'Hey! Shut up, Black.' James appeared by her side as she took a few steps back with tears in her eyes.<br/>
'Black...Sirius, is she related to you?' Elizabeth asked but Sirius had no answer.<br/>
'She's his cousin, they come from a long line of traditional purebloods, all soon to be death eaters is what my dad said. Don't take any notice of them Liz, let's get you to lesson. I don't mind being fashionably late.' James pulled her away as the tears broke over and the laughter of the older group could be heared.</p><p>James pulled her away and up several staircases, Sirius was close to follow and had a limp hand placed on her shoulder, they rounded the corner of the charms corridor, the class had lined up and Flitwick was stood outside talking to them. He took notice of the distressed girl and assumed the two boys had helped her find her way, James looked angry whilst Sirius wore an expression of shame. </p><p>'We have to head to lesson, I'm sorry you met her Liz, she's an awful person. It's disgusting what she said, I'm also sorry about your mum.' James comforted.<br/>
'I'm sorry too. I promise, I am nothing like my family, I'm not going to be a future death eater like them. I'll stay with you, we can ditch together if you want, until you feel better.' Sirius suggested.<br/>
'It's not your fault Sirius, bad roll of the dice with her being your family. I won't let you be like them anyway, don't ditch, go to class besides Flitwick has spotted me now.' Elizabeth wiped her tears away and gave the boys a hug each.<br/>
'If she says anything else, I'll curse her or I'll let my dad know.' James said defiantly.<br/>
'I can't do much, my whole family hates me but I'll always stick by your side. You'll definitely keep me out of prison.' Sirius laughed.</p><p>The boys took off and Elizabeth went into class, she felt upset about people knowing her personal life, it wasn't something she expected but she had friends that'll protect her. Mable looked over at her, she had easily noticed she was upset but because she was the last to enter because of her late departure from Sirius and James she was seated next to a quiet Hufflepuff boy. He refused to acknowledge her and seemed incredibly shy, this differed from his other house members who all seemed to be in deep conversation and making good friends with everyone. The class went on to discuss levitating spells, the technique and the importance of pronunciation. The class soon ended and Elizabeth just wanted to finish her first set of lessons and go to her dorm and sleep, she really didn't want to risk the situation with Sirius's cousin getting around the school.</p><p>'Lizzie, wait, I just wanted to make sure you're alright. You arrived late with bloodshot eyes and seemed really upset, is everything okay.' Mable asked quietly.</p><p>Elizabeth however took no notice of what Mable had asked, instead she noticed the older students all glancing at her and then turning away to their friends whenever she met their eyes. Her stomach knotted and she felt her eyes beginning to burn again, it was as if the whole school knew already this was when Sammy approached her.</p><p>'Hey egg, Professor Mcgonagall and Professor Slughorn want to speak with you, it's about what that older girl, Bellatrix Black said to you outside Professor Slughorn's classroom.' He tired his best to whisper the message.<br/>
'What happened? With who?' Mable asked again.<br/>
'I don't want to talk about it. Why can't I go to my next lesson?' Elizabeth muttered.<br/>
'It's not a choice, Mcgonagall is deputy headmistress, you do as she says and Hogwarts is an easy ride. Come on, I'll be with you because Flitwick has another lesson and the head boy is also in lesson.' Sammy nodded his head down the hallway.</p><p>Together they left Mable annoyed and clueless to make their way over to the transfiguration classroom where Professor Mcgonagall had been teaching the period beforehand, they entered the room and Elizabeth saw the headmistress sat behind her desk with Professor Slughorn to her left and Bellatrix sat in the front row of desks. Sammy brought her to the mahogany desk and stood her in front of Professor Mcgonagall but placed himself strategically that he shielded her from the angry eyes of Bellatrix.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Okay. I'm awful and publishing. Don't hate me. Please.</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This was my first chapter, I am hoping to keep this up with the support of my two friends who hyped me up for this story, as well as for anyone else who finds this and enjoys this story. It is based in the Marauders Era, which gives me a lot more flexibility on characters both my own and the original. It will be interesting to imagine and develop them myself, I hope you guys liked the first chapter and the ones to come! Feel free to leave a comment but also a kudos will help too!<br/>p.s. shout out to my friend who let me use their account for this!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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